


a little box of happiness

by chocomissile (rvnqn)



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Ficlet, Fluff, Gen, Stimming, Tenderness, aira and tatsumi are on the autism spectrum, alkaloid are neurodivergent kings, hiiro and mayoi have adhd, neurodivergent characters, slight mentions of self-harm, this is about the alkaloid dorm stim toy box
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:40:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24306811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rvnqn/pseuds/chocomissile
Summary: Everything in the box had its own bit of happiness for Alkaloid.---A short fic about the Alkaloid dorm's stim toy box.
Comments: 23
Kudos: 54





	a little box of happiness

**Author's Note:**

> alkaloid is neurodivergent bc tatsuchurch says so  
> i'm gonna write something cute if it's the last thing i do goddamn it

Each member of Alkaloid had their each individual form of comfort. Comfort that could be found in a box atop their shared dresser. Each member could tell what item belonged to who. Everyone in their unit had their own distinct way of self-soothing, after all.

* * *

Hiiro had trouble keeping his body still, especially his legs and hands. He was ever-restless, and ever-fascinated by the world that had been expanded beyond the confines of the village he'd grown up in. He'd found that his new favorite things were fidget cubes and spinners and puzzle boxes. He liked to busy his hands with any and every cube, spinner, and puzzle he could convince Tatsumi to buy him, when he couldn't run his fingers through Aira's hair or run his hands through soft fabrics or over smooth surfaces. The puzzle boxes were his absolute favorite, if only because the process of taking things apart and putting them back together absolutely entranced him. Outside of the rest of Alkaloid, those were his comforts.

* * *

Aira mostly used his voice and flapped his arms, using his own catchphrases and singing pieces of songs he knew - and lately, their own songs - when he was excited or happy; however, he was also rather partial to things he could squeeze or squish. Whenever he was waiting in line to watch a live, or whenever he browsed through social media for the latest idol news, he often found himself humming and squeezing at an edamame toy key chain or a slow-rise squishy. Beyond that, he had a few toys that made sound - mostly stuffed animals with obvious spots to squeeze - after all, noises he wasn't expecting were one of the things that made him feel the most anxious. Mayoi was even kind enough to make such a stuffed animal for Aira himself, for which Hiiro provided the voice recordings. Outside of idols, and his dear friends, those were his comforts.

* * *

Mayoi, like Hiiro, was always restless, but his restlessness often led to harming himself if he was feeling stressed enough. While he put most of his energy into artistic pursuits to help himself cope, he wasn't averse to using toys or other forms of stimulation, and the ones he felt himself gravitating towards were chewable, squeezable, or scented. The chewable toys were practically necessary for him - it gave him something to chew on besides himself. His favorite was shark-shaped. He kept the chewable toys inside of a plastic bag out of necessity, though he had a few he could wear just in case. In terms of things to squeeze, he kept things simple with stress balls, though he preferred to have a variety when it came to firmness and color. Squeezing the same one over and over and over just made him feel more restless, in the end. Hiiro and Tatsumi provided him with sachets with soothing scents such as lavender and energizing ones such as lemongrass, giving him plenty of options to either bring himself down from a manic episode or bring himself up from a depressive one. Outside of the friends that had given him a second chance at life, and his dioramas, those were his comforts.

* * *

Tatsumi was the most finicky of the bunch - he was very picky about textures, so he always had to feel things beforehand before he committed to a buying something. As such, to save himself the trouble, he settled on metal fidgets that allowed him to practice repetitive motions and visual toys. Among his favorites were a repurposed bike chain, an oil-and-water drip timer, and a small collection of tops. Mayoi had helped him in refurbishing one of Aira's broken bike chains into something that Tatsumi could use to fidget with, and through that, Tatsumi had discovered just how good the other third-year was with his hands. When he felt more like watching something, he would simply set the oil timer up near the window, turn on some classical music, rest his head on the dorm's desk, and watch as the sun shined through the green and purple oil. It was captivating for him. Outside of God, and Alkaloid, who had given him hope as a returning idol, those were his comforts.

* * *

They'd all helped provide each other with some form of comfort, in the end, directly and indirectly. Their shared box was proof of that, and their collective bond as both unit mates and friends - family, even. Even when times were tough, they could all turn to each other, and their box.

And that was all each of them could ask for.

**Author's Note:**

> for tatsuchurch <3


End file.
